Seeing Red: The Dreaded Topic
Well, I've finally worked up my courage here. There's one scene in BtVS that always seems to provoke a strong reaction in people, for various reasons. It's understandable, given the subject matter.
Honestly, I've gone back and forth on the bathroom scene from Seeing Red (which will be referred to as the AR from now on since that seems to be the common term for it). I've read a lot of different opinions on it from different sides. I watched it several times. I thought about it a lot.
Naturally, there is a strong emotionally negative reaction to it. However, even putting that aside, I still find myself disliking that scene, and it's taken me quite a while to figure out why besides "It makes me uncomfortable". While that's true, I also have a more critical, less emotional reason for wishing that scene had never been made.
But first, I need to examine the scene from a few different contexts.
Thematic/Character
As far as characterization goes, the scene is in-character for Spike. I can't fault that or say he wouldn't have done that. It's important to note here that the AR was not maliciously motivated by Spike but was rather an act of desperation. There was a decided lack of knowledge and/or intent as to an actual rape, though if he had continued while Buffy fought him, he would obviously have been guilty of such.
So the way the act was portrayed is in sync with Spike at that point. He'd been getting mixed messages from Buffy. She breaks up with him, tells him to move on, gets jealous when he does move on. He's confused and wanting to try to restart their relationship, much in the same way Buffy originally initiated it back in Smashed: with a violent sexual encounter.
However, Spike realizes that, this time, Buffy seriously does not want him and he leaves.
So, Spike's not OOC. But why on earth does it take Buffy so long to shove him off her? She's proven herself to be a great deal stronger than Spike. To have her screaming and crying on the floor beneath him is rather off for her character. This is a point that I'll come back to.
Thematically, the AR almost works. As far as S6 goes, it's fine. They needed a catalyst to have Spike seek his soul. The AR fit the bill. However, their lack of proper follow-up in S7 is disappointing.
It's pretty obvious when I say that rape is a hot topic. You can't stick a scene like that in a show, and then try to move past it as quickly as possible in the next year.
After the first several episodes of S7, the AR isn't even brought up. It's certainly important. It is what triggered Spike to get his soul, after all. And he makes it clear in Beneath You that he still carries a large amount of guilt for that specific act ("To be a kind of man who would never - ").
However, after that, it's never dealt with. Buffy and Spike continue on an ambiguous relationship through S7 without ever discussing it. Does Buffy forgive him? Does she feel it's unimportant? Is she able to rationalize that it's okay since he was soulless at the time, much like the Angel/Angelus distinction? We don't know. We don't know anything about Spike's feelings about it beyond the obvious guilt.
These aren't trivial questions. If they weren't prepared to handle the controversial themes that would naturally come from a scene such as that, then they should never have included it in the first place.
Buffy/Spike
It's no secret that I'm a Spuffy shipper. The AR upsets quite a few fellow shippers, for obvious reasons.
I do think the AR was rather mishandled in terms of their relationship. Prior to the AR, Buffy had been quite abusive towards Spike. However, once the AR happens, the show seems to forget all about her part in their relationship. Suddenly, all the burden is on Spike to atone for the wrong he did Buffy.
And, boy, does he ever. He gets a soul. That's no small task for a soulless creature to do.
This is a case of sympathy. Spike became a rather pathetically sympathetic character through S6. Not even an AR could put a dent on that, mainly because of the way the scene played out (See the above section regarding the Spike's intent in that scene). However, there seems to be a decided disconnect between what was intended and what comes across onscreen. After the AR, we're clearly supposed to be pissed off at Spike and want him to get his comeuppance somehow. However, if you're like me, you're left going, "Okay, so he got his soul, which seems to be the equivalent of crawling through fire across broken glass naked on his stomach while someone lashes him. Now what's Buffy doing for her part in that abusive relationship?"
While it is in-character for Buffy to avoid the personal responsibility for her abuse of Spike, it's unsatisfying, as an audience member, to watch her be relieved of any guilt or accountability for what she did. Instead, it's all put on Spike's shoulders to bear.
And, thus, Spike becomes an even more sympathetic character.
This particular aspect of the AR isn't frightfully critical of me, and it does, admittedly, come down to "It's just not fair!" However, I do feel that the contrast between what's shown onscreen and what we're meant to see is significant enough to point out.
Feminist context
It might be useful to read through one of my earlier posts on Buffy's Bad Sex Life here. This particular aspect is, perhaps, my biggest objection to the AR.
Rape is an ugly crime. And, yes, it is predominately a crime against women. It's often used as a way of exerting power over women. So, absolutely, rape can be seen as a feminist issue.
I'm glad that people are becoming more aware of the prevalence of rape in our society. However, along with that awareness comes the insistence that rape is the "ultimate crime against women" and that it is a "fate worse than death".
Really? Having a man's penis forced into you is the worst crime possible for a woman? I think it's important to recognize the seriousness of rape while, at the same time, keeping it in perspective. To subscribe to the hyperbole surrounding rape gives far too much power to the rapists. Yes, there are worse crimes. No, it isn't worse than death. Yes, people do have a life after being raped.
Having a rape (or attempted rape) in a show often feels like a grand gesture to prove that the show takes rape (and thus, feminism and women) seriously.
In one fell swoop, Spike managed to make all his other crimes null and void. It was the fact that he almost raped the woman he loves that spurs his crisis and subsequent soul-search. Thousands of past murders don't matter, apparently. In my view, murder is worse than rape.
We are also treated to the the sight of our feminist heroine screaming and crying on the floor underneath a man, completely victimized. Is this a positive image for the show? Is this how we're supposed to see Buffy?
Not only that, but the entire Spike/Buffy relationship of S6 had revolved around reverse gender roles between the two of them. Buffy was the aggressor/abuser while Spike had the emotional attachment. Buffy had all the power. The AR dramatically swings that in the other direction, with Spike violently trying to take back his masculine power that Buffy had had throughout the season. Perhaps if Buffy had fought him as she usually did, with fists, instead of wiggling on the floor and sobbing, I might have less of an objection. However, it appears they were willing to sacrifice the strength and image of our heroine in order to make a statement about rape.
With the AR, we also get Buffy's final instance of being punished for sex (in TV canon). The AR was a direct result of the sex they had had previously. Spike was trying to initiate sex as they had done before, and he was unaware as to how the situation had changed. What a wonderful feminist message. A casual sexual relationship can lead to rape. Yay. S6, on the whole, seems to go out of its way to present sex as destructive to Buffy. The AR is just the icing on the cake in that regard.
Of course, this will leave Buffy chaste all through the next season. Positive sexual relationships are, apparently, out of the question where true love is concerned.
On a feminist level, it is appalling how the AR scene was handled. It's frighteningly regressive in the amount of power it gives to the potential rapist in terms of the aftermath. It victimizes the heroine of the show in a way we'd never seen before. And it acts as a commentary on Buffy's prior turbulent sex life. It's for these reasons, and the reasons stated in the sections above, that I wish that scene had not been in the show. I think it did more harm than good, on several levels.
Disclaimers
This huge text? My opinion. All of it is only my opinion. Yup, yup. Please feel free to comment and/or discuss with each other. Keep things civil, though, please.
Oh, and.....please don't hurt me?
Edit 12/11: Buffy fandom is so awesome. I was expecting to get flamed off the internet after posting this. And, while I am slightly overwhelmed at the number of comments, everybody's being wonderfully respectful and thoughtful, so here's a thanks for that. Continue on and feel free to browse through the comments that have already been posted. There's some interesting discussion to be found there.
Also, if you're a Spuffy fan and you take some small pity on me for being insane/stupid/naive enough to post about this, please feel free to stop by here if you get a chance to rec me some fluffy Spuffy fics. Prolonged discussion of the AR scene can be upsetting for a Spuffy fan. I need something to even things out. :)
Honestly, I've gone back and forth on the bathroom scene from Seeing Red (which will be referred to as the AR from now on since that seems to be the common term for it). I've read a lot of different opinions on it from different sides. I watched it several times. I thought about it a lot.
Naturally, there is a strong emotionally negative reaction to it. However, even putting that aside, I still find myself disliking that scene, and it's taken me quite a while to figure out why besides "It makes me uncomfortable". While that's true, I also have a more critical, less emotional reason for wishing that scene had never been made.
But first, I need to examine the scene from a few different contexts.
Thematic/Character
As far as characterization goes, the scene is in-character for Spike. I can't fault that or say he wouldn't have done that. It's important to note here that the AR was not maliciously motivated by Spike but was rather an act of desperation. There was a decided lack of knowledge and/or intent as to an actual rape, though if he had continued while Buffy fought him, he would obviously have been guilty of such.
So the way the act was portrayed is in sync with Spike at that point. He'd been getting mixed messages from Buffy. She breaks up with him, tells him to move on, gets jealous when he does move on. He's confused and wanting to try to restart their relationship, much in the same way Buffy originally initiated it back in Smashed: with a violent sexual encounter.
However, Spike realizes that, this time, Buffy seriously does not want him and he leaves.
So, Spike's not OOC. But why on earth does it take Buffy so long to shove him off her? She's proven herself to be a great deal stronger than Spike. To have her screaming and crying on the floor beneath him is rather off for her character. This is a point that I'll come back to.
Thematically, the AR almost works. As far as S6 goes, it's fine. They needed a catalyst to have Spike seek his soul. The AR fit the bill. However, their lack of proper follow-up in S7 is disappointing.
It's pretty obvious when I say that rape is a hot topic. You can't stick a scene like that in a show, and then try to move past it as quickly as possible in the next year.
After the first several episodes of S7, the AR isn't even brought up. It's certainly important. It is what triggered Spike to get his soul, after all. And he makes it clear in Beneath You that he still carries a large amount of guilt for that specific act ("To be a kind of man who would never - ").
However, after that, it's never dealt with. Buffy and Spike continue on an ambiguous relationship through S7 without ever discussing it. Does Buffy forgive him? Does she feel it's unimportant? Is she able to rationalize that it's okay since he was soulless at the time, much like the Angel/Angelus distinction? We don't know. We don't know anything about Spike's feelings about it beyond the obvious guilt.
These aren't trivial questions. If they weren't prepared to handle the controversial themes that would naturally come from a scene such as that, then they should never have included it in the first place.
Buffy/Spike
It's no secret that I'm a Spuffy shipper. The AR upsets quite a few fellow shippers, for obvious reasons.
I do think the AR was rather mishandled in terms of their relationship. Prior to the AR, Buffy had been quite abusive towards Spike. However, once the AR happens, the show seems to forget all about her part in their relationship. Suddenly, all the burden is on Spike to atone for the wrong he did Buffy.
And, boy, does he ever. He gets a soul. That's no small task for a soulless creature to do.
This is a case of sympathy. Spike became a rather pathetically sympathetic character through S6. Not even an AR could put a dent on that, mainly because of the way the scene played out (See the above section regarding the Spike's intent in that scene). However, there seems to be a decided disconnect between what was intended and what comes across onscreen. After the AR, we're clearly supposed to be pissed off at Spike and want him to get his comeuppance somehow. However, if you're like me, you're left going, "Okay, so he got his soul, which seems to be the equivalent of crawling through fire across broken glass naked on his stomach while someone lashes him. Now what's Buffy doing for her part in that abusive relationship?"
While it is in-character for Buffy to avoid the personal responsibility for her abuse of Spike, it's unsatisfying, as an audience member, to watch her be relieved of any guilt or accountability for what she did. Instead, it's all put on Spike's shoulders to bear.
And, thus, Spike becomes an even more sympathetic character.
This particular aspect of the AR isn't frightfully critical of me, and it does, admittedly, come down to "It's just not fair!" However, I do feel that the contrast between what's shown onscreen and what we're meant to see is significant enough to point out.
Feminist context
It might be useful to read through one of my earlier posts on Buffy's Bad Sex Life here. This particular aspect is, perhaps, my biggest objection to the AR.
Rape is an ugly crime. And, yes, it is predominately a crime against women. It's often used as a way of exerting power over women. So, absolutely, rape can be seen as a feminist issue.
I'm glad that people are becoming more aware of the prevalence of rape in our society. However, along with that awareness comes the insistence that rape is the "ultimate crime against women" and that it is a "fate worse than death".
Really? Having a man's penis forced into you is the worst crime possible for a woman? I think it's important to recognize the seriousness of rape while, at the same time, keeping it in perspective. To subscribe to the hyperbole surrounding rape gives far too much power to the rapists. Yes, there are worse crimes. No, it isn't worse than death. Yes, people do have a life after being raped.
Having a rape (or attempted rape) in a show often feels like a grand gesture to prove that the show takes rape (and thus, feminism and women) seriously.
In one fell swoop, Spike managed to make all his other crimes null and void. It was the fact that he almost raped the woman he loves that spurs his crisis and subsequent soul-search. Thousands of past murders don't matter, apparently. In my view, murder is worse than rape.
We are also treated to the the sight of our feminist heroine screaming and crying on the floor underneath a man, completely victimized. Is this a positive image for the show? Is this how we're supposed to see Buffy?
Not only that, but the entire Spike/Buffy relationship of S6 had revolved around reverse gender roles between the two of them. Buffy was the aggressor/abuser while Spike had the emotional attachment. Buffy had all the power. The AR dramatically swings that in the other direction, with Spike violently trying to take back his masculine power that Buffy had had throughout the season. Perhaps if Buffy had fought him as she usually did, with fists, instead of wiggling on the floor and sobbing, I might have less of an objection. However, it appears they were willing to sacrifice the strength and image of our heroine in order to make a statement about rape.
With the AR, we also get Buffy's final instance of being punished for sex (in TV canon). The AR was a direct result of the sex they had had previously. Spike was trying to initiate sex as they had done before, and he was unaware as to how the situation had changed. What a wonderful feminist message. A casual sexual relationship can lead to rape. Yay. S6, on the whole, seems to go out of its way to present sex as destructive to Buffy. The AR is just the icing on the cake in that regard.
Of course, this will leave Buffy chaste all through the next season. Positive sexual relationships are, apparently, out of the question where true love is concerned.
On a feminist level, it is appalling how the AR scene was handled. It's frighteningly regressive in the amount of power it gives to the potential rapist in terms of the aftermath. It victimizes the heroine of the show in a way we'd never seen before. And it acts as a commentary on Buffy's prior turbulent sex life. It's for these reasons, and the reasons stated in the sections above, that I wish that scene had not been in the show. I think it did more harm than good, on several levels.
Disclaimers
This huge text? My opinion. All of it is only my opinion. Yup, yup. Please feel free to comment and/or discuss with each other. Keep things civil, though, please.
Oh, and.....please don't hurt me?
Edit 12/11: Buffy fandom is so awesome. I was expecting to get flamed off the internet after posting this. And, while I am slightly overwhelmed at the number of comments, everybody's being wonderfully respectful and thoughtful, so here's a thanks for that. Continue on and feel free to browse through the comments that have already been posted. There's some interesting discussion to be found there.
Also, if you're a Spuffy fan and you take some small pity on me for being insane/stupid/naive enough to post about this, please feel free to stop by here if you get a chance to rec me some fluffy Spuffy fics. Prolonged discussion of the AR scene can be upsetting for a Spuffy fan. I need something to even things out. :)